7. Yeah, she wore a bunch of great dresses this year.

8. Then she graced the universe with her album Talk A Good Game.

It’s her fourth solo album and easily her most cohesive release. It’s a place where slow burn jams like “Red Wine” feel at home next to the hooky “Street Life,” which has a nice Pusha T verse on it. And you can’t deny the Destiny’s Child reunion on the romantic “You Changed” is anything short of a blessing.

9. She dropped an awesome video for her sexual empowerment anthem “Kisses Down Low.”

11. Like, incredibly so.

12. She also dropped a video for her brave confessional “Dirty Laundry.”

In the song, she she opens up about being battered by an ex-boyfriend, struggling with her career, and feeling jealous of Beyonce. “Love is pain and pain is love,” she repeats over and over again as the song ends. It was a really courageous statement.